The Birchwood Twin(s): Of Toons and Tragedies (Part Two)
by BeatriceBirchwood01
Summary: It's been almost a year since the Twins and Toon Patrol first met. So far, they are getting along very well. It's like they've been friends for a really long time. But when Beatrice and Tommy discover a shocking secret, what they learn may affect their trust in the Toon Patrol and maybe their alliance.
1. Chapter 1: Greasy's Second Mask

**Chapter One**

 **(Here it is! The second part of** _ **Of Toons and Tragedies**_ **!**

 **All I can tell y'all is that it's going to be pretty intense at some point.**

 **My advice to y'all is this:**

 **Brace yourselves!**

 ***laughs while typing this Author's Note***

 **Okay.**

 **Enjoy this chapter and, hopefully, the rest of this story!**

 **-imaginarytoon1**

 **P.S.: If this chapter isn't good, forgive me. I'm still a little rusty, due to not writing fan fiction for some time.)**

 **Beatrice:**

 _I'm in one of Houston's popular but small libraries, sitting on a comfortable chair, and reading Stephen King's_ The Body.

 _I've read it before._

 _In fact, I remember the first time I read it_ _was when I was fourteen. And that was before I realized that reading_ The Body _was like watching a Rated R movie. But I knew that I would never repeat anything from the book. So, I kept reading and reading…until I reached the end, cried a little, and called it my favorite coming-of-age story._

 _But I digress._

 _Reading in a library is something that I haven't done in a while. I think I should do it more often. Just spend a few hours sitting in a quiet building and reading a good book, like the one that I'm reading right now._

 _After reaching the end of the twenty-fourth page in_ The Body _, I grab the lower right corner of it and carefully—_

 _I frowned._

" _That's funny." I muttered. "The next page is blank."_

 _And so is the next page...and the next one, and the next one, and the next one!_

 _Why, all of the remaining pages are blank!_

 _But how?_

 _This must be a mistake._

 _An incomplete book shouldn't be allowed in a library! Especially in one located in Houston!_

 _I close the book, get up from the chair, and walk my way over to the check-out desk._

 _All I have to do is…_

 _Oh, great. There's no one sitting behind the desk._

 _I guess I'll just have to wait until somebody shows up and I don't care if I have to wait until closing time._

… _What on Earth? What's that I'm hearing?_

 _Drums?_

 _Where is the drum music coming from?_

 _It can't be from my phone. I don't listen to music when I'm reading._

 _(Well, not always.)_

… _What happened to my skin?! What happened to my clothes?!_

 _What did I turn into, a character from a black and white film?!_

 _Oh man, what is this world coming to?_

 _All I wanted a few hours of reading in a quiet environment. But in order for that to happen, I need a new book. I mean, a complete book, not like one that I have right now!_

" _Hey." A familiar voice greeted me._

 _I turn around and nearly jump after seeing who it was._

 _It's 'Greasy', green zoot suit and all._

 _And he's wearing a mask._

 _A Guy Fawkes mask?_

 _No, 'Greasy's' wearing a different mask._

 _This time, it's a shiny, pitch-black mask. Despite of its shiny appearance, it looks like it's melting with a consistency of candle wax but dripping like water. Like the Guy Fawkes mask, the new mask gave 'Greasy's' face full coverage._

 _I frowned._

" _What?" 'Greasy' asked._

" _You're wearing a different mask this time." I replied. "And I highly doubt that your face is underneath it."_

 _After a brief pause, 'Greasy' laughed. He laughed like I just told him a joke._

" _That's pretty funny!"_

 _I rolled my eyes and sighed._

 _I know 'Greasy's' not going to take me seriously until I give him an explanation._

" _Let me jog your memory for you. The last time I saw you, you were wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. And when you took it off, you scared me because your face was gone."_

' _Greasy' stopped laughing and looked at me._

" _Oh, okay, now I remember. I don't know why I forgot about that."_

" _Well, now you know." I stated while crossing my arms. "And I'm one step ahead of you. I'm not going to ask you to take the mask off. Because if I do and you take it off, all I'm going to see is a toon weasel without a head."_

 _'Greasy' sighed in frustration._

 _"If you're not going to believe me," He began, "I suppose I'll make you."_

 _I raise my eyebrows a little and uncrossed my arms._

 _"Make me?" I asked. "How?"_

 _"Watch me."_

Oh, great _. I thought as 'Greasy' placed his hands on the sides of his mask._ He's going to take off the mask _._

 _Well, I'm prepared to see a headless toon weasel._

 _If it scared me the first time, it probably won't scare me this time._

 _Then, as 'Greasy' slowly peeled his mask off, I heard someone sing,_

"But I see your true colors shining through,

I see your true colors…"

 _I watch 'Greasy's' mask hit the floor, breaking into pieces. Then, I look back up at 'Greasy'—_

 _My eyes widened._

 _Oh, my gosh._

 _I was wrong._

 _'Greasy'…had been telling me the truth this whole time._

 _His face really was under the mask._

 _But, like my skin and clothes, 'Greasy's' face is black and white._

 _"Now do you believe me?" He asked._

 _"Well…y-yeah." I stuttered. "But what happened to the color of your face?"_

 _'Greasy' raised one of his eyebrows._

 _"What are you talking about?"_

 _"Your face is like my skin and clothes. It's black and white instead of…what it normally is."_

 _'Greasy' reached into one of the pockets of his trousers pulled out a tiny portable mirror. Then, he opened up and looked at his reflection. His eyes widened in both shock and confusion and he took his time to get a good look of himself._

 _Although I can see that 'Greasy' has a face, I still have this feeling that's something is off about him. I don't know what it is but it's enough to make me move away from the front desk and inch my way to the exit._

 _"I don't know why my face looks like this." 'Greasy' said. "But I hope it's not a perman—Wait, where are you going?"_

 _I stopped where I was, sighed, and looked at him straight in the eye._

 _"I don't know what you're trying to do." I replied. "But there's something about you that's scaring me!"_

 _And just like that, I sprinted towards the exit._

 _I don't even understand why this Greasy impersonator popped up in the library. He freaked me out the first time in that strange memory room. Could it be possible that he liked how I reacted the last time and wanted me to do it again? If that's true, then that's messed up!_

 _Oh, there's the exit!_

 _Yes! I made it!_

 _"I can see your true colors, Beatrice!" I heard 'Greasy' shout._

 _What's that supposed to mean?!_

 _I look back at him._

 _"What are you—?!"_

 _Before I had the chance to finish that, I slam right into something. It felt like getting hit by a speeding bus._

 _Suddenly, everything goes white. It's so bright._

 _Then, black!_

 _Now I can't breathe!_

 _White!_

 _And black again!_

 _Then, just white!_

…

I gasp, suddenly gaining back my ability to breathe. Then, I open my eyes as my heart pounds in my chest. While panting, I look around.

Where am I?!

…Oh, I'm back in my room.

I sigh in relief.

That means that everything that just happened was all a crazy dream.

I turn on my phone and look at the time.

"It's five o'clock in the morning." I muttered while rolling my eyes.

It's still summer vacation and I don't have time to wake up early. I'm not going to do that until school starts back up again.


	2. Chapter 2: Into The Mind of Beatrice

**Chapter Two**

 ***8:45:40 AM***

 **Tommy:**

As I munch on a fresh sausage kolache, I finish reading a page from a book that Yen Sid gave me.

This is what the page says:

" _ **The most common and frustrating problem for beginner, intermediate, and advanced telepathy users is feeling exhausted while reading multiple minds all at once. This usually happens when he or she is in a room full of people. The best solution for the user to avoid feeling of exhaustion is by focusing on one or two minds at a time.**_ "

I'll keep that in mind.

I turn the page.

" _ **Although telepathy is mainly a mind power, sometimes physical contact is necessary for some sub-telepathic skills. The skills include telepathic pushing, emotion manipulation, and mind-melding. Before I explain what they are, I must include this very important tip. In order for the stated three skills to work, the user must use physical contact. All they have to do is place their hand(s) on an individual's head or their wrist and activate the power with great concentration.**_

 _ **To begin, telepathic pushing is the ability to implant memories, thoughts, and feelings into—**_ "

"Good morning, Tommy."

I look up from the page to see…Beatrice standing in the kitchen doorway. Her hair looks messy and she, like me, is wearing her pajamas. My observations indicate that my sister just got out of bed.

Wait. What time is it?

Oh, it's almost nine o'clock.

...ALMOST NINE O'CLOCK?

Well, I guess that could really mean that Beatrice just got of bed.

I don't know.

It never hurts to ask.

"Good morning. Just got out of bed, Beatrice?" I asked.

Beatrice shook her head.

"No. I've been up for an hour."

Okay, I was wrong.

"And what all did you do?" I asked.

"Thinking and recording my thoughts." She replied with a yawn.

"Yeah? Want to talk about them?"

"If you really want to know, then yes. But first, there are a couple things that I want to talk about really quick."

"Okay."

As Beatrice spoke, she reached into one of the pockets of her pajama shorts and dug around in it.

"First question is, did Dad talk to you anytime before we started having this conversation?"

I nodded and replied,

"Yes. He got a box of kolaches for us to have for breakfast. Then, after helping himself to one of the kolaches, Dad told me that he will be running errands and helping out with Grandpappy. He even said that he should be back by supper time."

"Okay. Second question."

After saying that, Beatrice pulled two folded-up sheets of paper out from her pocket.

"Remember the strange notes that I've told you about?"

"Yeah. What about them?"

She held up the sheets of paper and said,

"I found two more. One last night and one today."

Last night?

"You found a note last night?" I asked.

"Yeah, and another one today. And they're both about Toon Town."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that you got a note last night?"

"I wanted to but I was too tired. So, I decided to wait until today."

Beatrice walked over to me and handed me the notes. As I unfolded one of them, she walked over to the counter, where I put the box of kolaches.

This note said,

 _Learning anything interesting about the Toon Patrol?_

 _If so, that's great!_

 _You never know what you're going to learn._

 _In the first note, I mentioned how you can get to Toon Town._

 _Unfortunately, I forgot to add in the best part._

 _Once you've entered and exited Toon Town the first time, you can do that again whenever you want. Just push in a book with a blue or white cover and you'll be led to Toon Town in seconds._

That's interesting.

And there's no signature at the bottom.

I unfolded the other note and began to read it.

It said,

 _Forgive me for not telling you everything about entering and exiting Toon Town but I have two more things to tell you._

 _First, if you have more than one book with a blue or white cover, remember this:_

 _While there's one book that will lead you to the City of Toon Town, the other books will lead you to other places. Look for any other books with blue or white covers, push them in, and see which one is going to lead you to where. Once you got that part figured out, label the name of a place on the book or books._

 _Finally, when you want to exit Toon Town, look for an inanimate toon drawing utensil and use it to draw a door. Make sure that your drawing surface is flat._

 _Again, I apologize for not telling you these things in the previous notes._

And that's where it ends.

I look up at Beatrice, who was sitting across from me.

"At least we both know how to enter and exit Toon Town." I said to her. "That's the good part. But the weird part is…"

I look down at the notes and quickly scan the written text.

Then, I look back up again.

"…how the person is leaving these notes in your room."

Beatrice nodded and ate up the rest of her kolache.

With her mouth full, she said,

"Yeah, that's the funny thing. I was going to assume that whenever I'm not in my room for long periods of time, I would find a note. Then, I realized the time when I got the first note. I was in my room when I found it. I didn't see who left it."

"Maybe it was already there when you found it." I suggested as she swallowed.

Beatrice shook her head.

"It wasn't. I found the first note on my bed while I was recording my thoughts. When I walked into my room, it wasn't on my bed. If I did see the note on my bed after walking in, I would immediately notice it."

"And I assume that you still don't know who's leaving you these notes?"

Beatrice sighed and put her hand on the side of her head.

"That's right and that's the frustrating part for two reasons. One, which is the most obvious reason, the notes have no signatures. And two, I don't recognize the handwriting."

I frowned.

"The handwriting?" I then inquired.

"Yeah. I took a little bit of time to read the notes again and see if there were any overlooked details. While doing that, I analyzed the handwriting. After reading each note four times—"

"You still couldn't recognize the handwriting?"

"That's right."

I open my mouth to speak and I closed it again. Then, after thinking for a moment, I sighed and put my head on my hand. Now I can't think of anything else to ask my sister. I thought of every question that I could think of and I've asked them all.

For now, I guess the best thing to do is offer a suggestion.

"Do you think we should ask Yen Sid?" I asked.

"I'm afraid so." Beatrice replied after nodding her head.

"Should we ask for his help right now?"

"Eh, maybe we should wait a little bit longer."

"Why wait?

As Beatrice got up from the table and walked to the counter, she explained,

"Because I don't know if Yen Sid sticks with California Time or Texas time. I can only think that he'll have time to talk to us around the afternoon hours. That's why I said that we should wait."

"Good idea."

Then as Beatrice took out her second kolache from the box, I asked,

"Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about?"

Beatrice frowned and knitted her eyebrows. Then, she looks down at the counter in thought. After about a minute of thinking, she looked at me and explained,

"The reason why I decided to record my thoughts is because of a strange dream that I had."

"And I suppose you want me to interpret the meaning of your dream?"

"…Yes."

"All right."

Beatrice sighed and smiled.

"Thanks, Tommy."

"Were you worried that I was going to say 'no'?" I chuckled.

"Kind of, yeah."

"Now why would I do that, Beatrice? I'm always available to help you out. You know that."

"I know."

After hearing her say that, I expected Beatrice to walk back over to the table and sit down. But instead, she just stood by the counter and just kind glancing around the kitchen. Then, she looked at me, as if she heard me say something to her.

Beatrice raised an eyebrow and asked,

"What?"

I laughed.

"I thought you were going to sit back down at the table!"

Beatrice's eyes widened in realization. Then, she chuckled and walked her way to the table.

I stretched my arms and cracked my knuckles. It's something that Yen Sid recommended in his book. According to one passage about oneiric cognition, stretching is supposed to help me loosen up and open up my mind (No, the book didn't say anything about cracking my knuckles. I added that part so I can loosen up more.).

As soon as Beatrice sat down, I said,

"Okay. Now, tell me everything that you remember about the dream."

She nodded and began to explain,

"The dream begins with me in a library reading a book…"

After hearing her say that, I noticed that my vision started to get dimmer and dimmer. It did just that until there was nothing but all black (Don't worry about that. It's a part of something that was mentioned in Yen Sid's book. I'm using both my telepathy and my oneiric cognition to interpret my sister's dream.).

Now, an image is forming.

I can see Beatrice sitting down and reading a book.

 _"…and I was just enjoying it until I noticed that one page was completely blank."_

I see the blank page.

" _I flipped through the remaining pages of the book, only to find them all completely blank. I walked up to the check-out desk but there was nobody there. So, I decided to wait. At some point, I heard music playing in the library_."

I can hear it!

" _Then, I noticed something very odd about myself_."

"Yeah, what?" I asked.

Oh, my gosh! What happened to Beatrice?!

" _For some strange reason, I began to look like a character in a black and white film. While my skin and clothes were in black and white, the library still remained in color. All of the sudden, I see Greasy, green zoot suit and all, wearing a mask. But after remembering my previous dream about him wearing a mask, I decided not to trust him_."

Now I can see what looked like a split screen image of Greasy and his masks. On one half, he is wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. On the other half, I can see him wearing a pitch-black mask that looks like it's been polished like a dress shoe. It even looks like it's melting like…candle wax?

" _When I told Greasy that I didn't plan on asking him to take off his mask, he assured me that his face really is hidden behind it. But after I told him not to take his mask again, Greasy said…_ "

" _ **If you're not going to believe me, I suppose I'll make you.**_ "

I just heard Greasy's voice!

" _Then, I watched him peel off his mask. It fell off and broke into pieces like glass. After I looked at Greasy, it turned out he was telling the truth. But like my skin and clothes, his face was black and white._ "

I can see everything that Beatrice just described to me. Greasy peeling off his mask, his mask breaking into pieces, and Greasy's black and white face.

" _Despite of seeing Greasy's face, I still felt like I couldn't trust him. So, I ran away from him. As I ran, I heard him shout…_ "

" _ **I can see your true colors, Beatrice!**_ "

"I looked back at Greasy and all of the sudden, I ran into something."

Now everything's gone white in Beatrice's head. Then black. Then white again. Then back to black. Back to white. Then, the white dissolves away and I am back to reality. I know because I can see my sister sitting at the kitchen table.

"And that's when I woke up." She concluded.

Although I'm feeling like I just woke up from sleeping, I still have the energy to tell Beatrice what I know.

I took a deep breath and said,

"I think Greasy knows something about you. And he might also be hiding something from you."


	3. Chapter 3: Flickering Lights

**Chapter Three**

 **Beatrice:**

"Greasy knows something about me? And he's hiding something from me as well?" I asked, repeating what Tommy said.

"That's right." He replied while chewing the last bit of his kolache.

"How did you figure that out?"

Tommy swallowed and cleared his throat.

"There were some details that stood out and gave me the meaning of your dream. First, you mentioned that Greasy was wearing a mask. We both know what a mask is. It's a symbol of concealment. But in your dream, Greasy's wearing a mask that appears to be melting like candle wax. That tells me that he's hiding something from you, but he's probably doing a bad job."

"That would explain why the mask appears to be melting." I said.

"Right. Second, after you said that Greasy took his mask off, you said that his face was black and white while his clothes were still in color. That could mean that even though he took his mask off, he's still not being completely honest about himself. It could also mean that there still some things that you don't know about Greasy."

I nodded slowly in understanding.

"The third detail, the one of you appearing to look like someone from a black and white movie, is making me think that you're probably hiding something from Greasy." Tommy continued. "I'm aware that you didn't wear a mask in your dream. That tells me I think that you appear to have nothing to hide from Greasy. But at the same time, you're hiding something from him and he somehow knows what it is you're trying to hide."

"And that's why he said, 'I can see your true colors, Beatrice'?"

Tommy nodded.

"Well, I don't know what I'm trying to hide from Greasy." I replied. "I mean, he doesn't know that I'm researching his past. But what else could I be hiding from him?"

"I'm not sure." Tommy said. "My oneiric cognition didn't allow me to analyze that. It only showed me what we both wanted to know."

"And I guess that means we'll know the answer at some point in the future?"

"Let's just say that."

I nodded in agreement.

"Oh, by the way, I thought about what we talked about last night." Tommy stated. "Have you thought about what you plan to say to Smarty and the others if they find out what you've been doing?"

After a minute of thinking, I shook my head slowly.

"Not that I can recall." I said with uncertainty. "But assuming that they do find out, I will be honest with them. And after that…"

Oh, no. What SHOULD I do or say after that?

Oh, gosh, why DIDN'T I think this through?

I thought I did!

Well, maybe I did and forgot about it at some point?

I don't know!

I wish I could remember thinking about it! But I can't remember! And now I'm panicking just thinking about it!

...I can't believe that I'm actually going to say this to Tommy.

"I actually don't know what to do after that."

There, I said it.

"You haven't thought that part through?" Tommy asked.

"Well, to be honest, no." I replied and placed my hand on my forehead. "I don't know why. Maybe I was too occupied with wanting to learn more about the Toon Patrol and didn't think that part through. Or maybe I thought it was going to be a good idea to never actually tell them because I still kind of rely on bottling up secrets."

Tommy motioned his hands to indicate that I had to calm down.

"Okay, okay." He said. "I'm not angry that you didn't think about what could happen if the Toon Patrol finds out. But since we're now talking about it, I'll agree with what you said earlier. If Smarty and the others find out, then, yes, you should be honest with them. And I'll help you out if you need it. It'll just be like how we worked together almost a year ago."

"You mean when I was slowly getting my voice back?" I asked, knitting my eyebrows.

"Yeah. Is there something wrong with that?"

"The helping part? No. The idea of you being my voice? I'm kind of...hesitant about that."

Tommy raised one of his eyebrows a little.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I'm thinking that you're going to try to do all of the talking when I want to speak for myself."

Tommy raised both of his eyebrows and shook his head.

"No, no, no, no, no. I actually mean that I'll be with you for support."

"Oh!" I said and laughed. "Oops!"

He chuckled.

"I know you're good at speaking, Beatrice. And don't you forget that."

"I won't."

"And I won't speak up unless you allow me."

"I'll make a mental note of that."

"So, we're good?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Sweet."

Right after Tommy said that, I picked up the box of kolaches and walked my way over to the fridge. After I opened the fridge, I noticed that there's not a lot of food in it. There's a...let's see, a half gallon of milk that's getting close to being empty, three individual eggs, some leftover fast food, an unopened package of bacon, two cans of Dr. Pepper...and that's about it.

I sighed and thought as I put the kolache box in the fridge,

 _I guess it's time to make a grocery list_.

"I'm planning to go grocery shopping at some point today. Is there anything that you want me to add on the list?" I asked Tommy.

"Hmm, I can't think of anything right now. I'll let you know if I do."

After I closed the fridge door, I walked over to one of the kitchen drawers, and took out a notepad and pen. I flipped open the notepad and wrote GROCERY LIST. I heard Tommy walk out of the kitchen as I wrote down the necessary items, such as another half gallon of milk and one carton of eggs.

 _Wait a minute._ I thought and stopped writing. _It's probably a good idea to call Dad and check if he wants anything from the store._

I then walked over to the house phone, dialed Dad's number, and brought the phone up to my ear. One hum...two hums...three hums…

" _Hello?_ "

"Hey, Dad." I replied.

" _What's up?_ "

"Oh, uh, I'm making a grocery list. Is there anything you want me to get at the store?"

" _Hmm, let me think._ "

Right after he said that, I heard someone knocking on the front door.

Who could that be?

"I'll get it!" Tommy exclaimed.

Then, I heard Dad say,

" _The only things I can think of are sandwich stuff and Dr. Pepper."_

I wrote the said items on the list.

"Okay." I said and heard the front door opening and closing. "Anything else?"

" _I don't think so._ "

"All right."

" _Do you know where to find the grocery money?_ "

"Yes, I do."

As I said that, Greasy walked into the kitchen. I waved at him and mouthed "Hold on" as Dad spoke.

" _Perfect. I'll see you and Tommy later today."_

"Okay, Dad. I love you." I replied.

" _Love you too."_

"Bye."

" _Bye."_

I hung up the phone, placed the grocery list on the counter, and turned to Greasy.

"Hey, Greasy! How are you doing?" I said.

"I'm doing good." He replied with a smile. "Just thought I'd swing by and chat."

"Okay. What's on your mind today?"

As Greasy replied, he walked towards the table and sat down.

"Did you get my note about the dance?"

I nodded and sat down next to Greasy.

"Yeah." I replied. "And I thought about the dance last night. I actually would like to come."

"You do? _¡Bonito!_ " Greasy exclaimed.

"The only problem is that...I don't know what to wear. Do I have to wear something...fancy?"

Greasy shook his head.

"No, _de ningún modo_. You just wear something comfortable but casual."

"Does that mean I have to wear a nice shirt and jeans?"

"Hmm, you actually have to wear a dress that you can wear while dancing."

Hmm, that's going to be a little tricky.

Why?

Because, other than the dress Cressida gave me on the last day of school, I don't have any dresses.

Or maybe I didn't look hard enough the last time I looked for one.

"I don't know if I have a dress like that." I explained to Greasy. "I'll have to check my closet...right after I change out of my pajamas. Can you wait in here for a couple minutes?"

" _Si_." He replied.

"Okay, I'll be right back."

I walked out of the kitchen, down the hallway that led to my bedroom, and walked into the said room. Then, I opened my closet, took out a blue tank top, walked towards my dresser, and took out a pair of white shorts. Finally, I quickly changed out of my pajamas and put on my outfit for today.

I sighed and said to myself,

"All right, now it's time to look for a dress."

As I looked in my closet, I knew for a fact that the only dress I have is the one Cressida gave me on the last day of school. That was mainly because for an obvious reason: I didn't have any dresses to wear. I gave them away when I was a kid and realized that I had no interest in wearing anything too girly, which became something that my mom and I would argue about for a long time. But since I told Greasy that I plan to come to The Jitterbug, I want to at least try to step out of my comfort zone.

(In fact, I think it's a good idea to try to wear something that I don't normally wear sometimes.)

"Nope. Nope. Nope." I mumbled while looking at all the baggy shirts in my closet.

When I finally reached the dress that Cressida gave me, I sighed.

Just as I predicted, looking for a dress appropriate and comfortable enough is going to be a tricky task for me.

...But I shouldn't give up just yet. Maybe I'll-

Wait.

I just noticed something sitting in the bottom right corner of my closet. I don't think I've seen before until today.

I pick up the thing-Hold on, I recognize this. I found it many years ago when Kaitlyn and I played dress-up one time. What "it" is is a package wrapped in brown wrapping paper and once belonged to my grandmother before she died.

I wonder what it could be.

As if it were aluminum foil wrapped around a burrito, I carefully tore off the packaging paper in a circular direction. Then, after one whole circle, I saw that there was some dark blue fabric in the remaining bit of packaging paper.

 _Wait_. I thought. _Could this be something that Grandma used to wear?_

I pulled out the thing out of the last bit of packaging paper and unrolled it.

"Oh, my gosh! It's a dress!" I exclaimed softly.

It was a short-sleeved navy blue dress with some white polka dots scattered around the top. Even though it had been wrapped up for...who-knows-how-long, the dress looked like it was in excellent condition.

 _It looks perfect!_ I thought. _But is it okay to wear? Wait, why the heck am I acting like I'm going on a date? I'm just hanging out with Greasy and everybody else in the Toon Patrol!_

I quickly walked out of my room and down the hallway. As I entered the kitchen, I saw that Greasy was still sitting at the table. I announced,

"I think I found the right dress."

I walked towards the table and carefully laid the dress down. Greasy's eyes widened and he exclaimed,

" _¡Esto se ve increíble!_ How long has this been in your closet?"

"Apparently for a long time. And it used to belong to my grandmother."

"Well, it looks beautiful! Have you tried it on?"

I shook my head.

"Do you think I should, just in case?" I asked.

"Wouldn't hurt to."

"Okay. I'll be right back...again."

I picked up the dress and walked out of the kitchen. Like I did the last time, I walked down the hallway that led to my room. This time, however, I walked into the bathroom instead. Then, I locked the door, stood in front of the bathroom mirror, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly slipped on the dress.

I opened my eyes...and I couldn't believe what I was seeing!

The dress...

 _It fits!_ I thought. _And now for the hardest part: showing it to Greasy._

I took another deep breath, smoothed out the dress a little, unlocked the door, and walked out of the bathroom. While my heart was beating pretty quickly, I walked down the hallway. I was really close to entering the kitchen when I just...stopped walking.

Did I do that out of nervousness?

Probably so.

I knew that I was being ridiculous.

 _I'm just going out with friends._ I thought. _I mean, Greasy knows that I'm not ready to date. I shouldn't be freaking out about that. But wearing a dress to a casual place? That's...unusual. And I'm not a fan of wearing dresses. Of course, on the other hand, it's probably possible that Greasy wants me to dress up in something that's appropriate in his time setting. Yeah, that could be it! Well, if that's true, then there's really nothing to worry about._

I took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen.

After stopping in front of the table, I watched Greasy put something in one of his trouser pockets. He looked at me right when I was about to take another deep breath. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped a little.

"Oh, _eso se ve_ …" I heard Greasy whisper.

"W-what?" I stuttered.

"That dress looks amazing on you!"

"Really, it does?"

"It does!"

I exhaled and chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you think so." I said, feeling my cheeks burn a little.

 _And thank goodness you said yes._ I thought. _Looking for a dress is a nightmare for me._

Greasy smiled in a way that made me think that he was detecting my nervousness. I knew because I've seen him give me that look before. Every single time...when I'm nervous...or anxious about something.

"Are you nervous about something?" He asked.

I had a feeling Greasy was going to ask me that!

And there's no way that I'm going to lie about it!

I glanced around the kitchen.

"Maaaybe?" I replied, twiddling my fingers.

With a knowing but caring smile, Greasy crossed his arms.

"Are you nervous about going to the dance club?"

"...A little." I said. "I can dance, but only when I'm learning a routine."

Greasy chuckled and replied,

"Just between you and me, I'm kind of the same."

My eyes widened a little.

"Really? Wow, I didn't know that."

"And that's why I thought of a plan."

"What is it?" I asked as I pulled out a chair and sat down.

"It's pretty _sencillo_. We—you, me, the others, Cressida, and possibly Tommy—go into The Jitterbug, get settled in, do a dance, hang out for a while, and then leave."

I chuckled.

"That sounds really simple. But I do have some questions. First, how long do you plan for all of us to settle in?"

Greasy aimed his eyes at the ceiling. After about a few seconds, he said,

"Mm, I was thinking...ten minutes."

I nodded.

"Sounds reasonable." I replied. "And when you brought up dancing, are you thinking of everyone in our group doing a slow dance?"

"No. I actually thought about doing…that one dance that you did for a class project. I don't remember the name of the song, but it had something to do with zoot suits."

Dance? Class project? Zoot suits?

 _Oh, yeah._ I thought _. I know which dance you're talking about._

"Are you thinking of _Mr. Zoot Suit_?" I asked.

Greasy snapped his fingers.

"Yes! That one!"

"And I suppose you want everybody in our group to learn the dance?"

Right after I asked that, the kitchen lights flickered a little.

 _Oh, no! Of all times, why are they flickering right now?!_ I thought. _Darn my telekinesis!_

Greasy shook his head.

"No, that would be a bad idea." He replied.

The lights stopped flickering.

"I was thinking of saving that dance for the two of us."

"How are we going to do that?" I asked cautiously.

Greasy looked at me and replied,

"We talk to whoever's in charge of the _música_ and they'll allow us to dance to _Mr. Zoot Suit_."

 _Wait a minute._ I thought while blinking in surprise. _Does this mean—?_

"You're allowed to make song requests at The Jitterbug?"

Greasy nodded.

" _Si_ , and that's why I picked Friday. Whoever has a song request gets to dance to it in front of everyone. That happens every Friday."

My eyes widened.

 _WHAT?!_ I thought. _IS GREASY SERIOUS?_

"You're pulling my leg!" I said.

" _¡Lo digo en serio!_ " Greasy laughed.

"Okay, now that's really interesting!"

Again, Greasy laughed.

As he laughed, the kitchen lights began to flicker again.

 _Ugh, why?!_ I thought.

The interesting part was the song request thing. But the fact that Greasy's thinking about dancing to _Mr. Zoot Suit_ …I mean, does he even know or REMEMBER the steps?

The flickering got worse, meaning that it got so fast that it was almost to the point of causing the light bulbs to explode. That made Greasy stop laughing. He looked at the lights and then looked at me.

"What's making the lights do that?" He asked.

"I think I'm doing it." I stuttered.

Greasy knitted his eyebrows a little.

"How are—? Oh, wait. It's your power, right?"

I glance around the kitchen before sighing.

"I'm sorry." I answered quietly.

"Are you feeling nervous again?" Greasy asked.

"I think I'm a little more anxious than nervous."

"If you don't want to dance, I'm okay—"

As the flickering slowed down, I shook my head.

"No, I'm not anxious about dancing." I said. "I'm not anxious about going to The Jitterbug either. What I'm slightly anxious about is dancing to _Mr. Zoot Suit_."

Greasy nodded slowly.

"Do you still remember the steps?" He asked.

"Yeah, I still do. But I don't know if you know the steps to the dance."

Greasy slowly shrugged his shoulders.

"I kind of do, but not too well."

 _Okay, that doesn't sound too bad._ I thought. _It's better than not knowing the steps at all, right?_

"But I still want to do the dance." Greasy added.

Right after he said that, the flickering stopped.

I could tell that Greasy really wanted to give the dance a try. I heard the honesty in his voice. Maybe because of that, I want to help him. True, he knows that we're only friends. But he treats me like I'm his girlfriend at the same time. I mean, I've been okay with it…so far. It's an unusual relationship that Greasy and I are having. But at least it's been a good one, even though we kind of had a rocky start when we first met.

I took a short deep breath and replied,

"All right. Since you're being honest with me, I would be glad to show you the steps."

Greasy's eyes widened.

"You would do that?" He asked.

I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah." I replied. "You're one of my good friends and I'd like to help you out. No strings attached."

Greasy got up, walked towards me, and placed his hands on my shoulders. He smiled and said,

"You are amazing, you know that, _cariño_?"

I shrugged lightly, causing Greasy to chuckle and wrapping his arms around me.

"Oh, of course you are."

After saying that, he kissed my head.

While I hugged him back, I thought,

 _What a strange relationship the two of us have. We're good friends, but Greasy's the only one who's showing affection. From what I've noticed, he tends to do that whenever I do or say something nice for him. I honestly kind of like it when he does that, like what he's doing right now. But I consider Greasy as a friend. Wait. Does THAT make me a bad person? I don't think so. I mean, I'm still trying to get to know Greasy. I'm still trying to understand him. And I'm taking my time trying to—_

The kitchen lights began to flicker again right as Greasy pulled away from me.

Oh, no, not again!

Somehow, Greasy didn't notice.

I don't know how, and I don't care.

But at least, that gave me the motivation to force myself to calm down. Thankfully, the kitchen lights stopped flickering when Greasy asked,

"When would you like to teach me the dance?"

I shrugged a little and replied,

"Hmm, I'm free anytime after lunch today. What's the best time for you?"

"I'm free all day."

"Okay. Uh, does one o'clock sound good?"

Greasy nodded.

"It's perfect."

"All righty. And don't you worry. You'll know all the steps to the dance before Friday. I can guarantee that."

 **(Hey, y'all!**

 **I bet y'all have noticed that my new username. I** **'m no longer called "imaginarytoon1" on here. I'm now called "BeatriceBirchwood01". Let me tell y'all what's been on my mind.**

 **The reason why I changed my username is** **because I want to keep my time on this website private. In case if y'all are wondering, I'm not going to give up on** _ **The Birchwood Twin(s)**_ **series. Not yet.** **The series still means a lot to me, but I've been experiencing a feeling like I'm kind of moving on from writing fan-fiction stories. Additionally, from what I've noticed, I've been spending a lot more time trying to focus on my future. Because of that, I'm not spending a lot of time writing fan-fiction. I've considered finishing this, the (possible) third and final part of** _ **Of Toons and Tragedies,**_ **and** _ **A Haunting in the Acme Factory**_ **before permanently ending my time on here.**

 **To conclude this Author's Note, I have an important announcement:**

 **After I thought about changing my username, I've decided to tell y'all to do me a big favor. It's this:** **Please keep my fan-fiction identity a secret.** **It's really important that y'all do. Disregard every Author's Note that has my old username written as my signature, call me by my old username in Private Messages...do whatever y'all can to keep my fan-fiction identity private.**

 **Thank you very much.**

 **-BeatriceBirchwood01**

 **PS: Some of y'all might've noticed that I recently deleted my "Fazbear Phobia" story. It's because I have lost the motivation and inspiration to keep working on it. For that reason, I thought it wouldn't be fair to keep y'all waiting on a discontinued story.)**


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